


Blow Ticklers and Bourbon

by orphan_account



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, New Year's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-07 21:43:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20464742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: New Year's Eve.





	Blow Ticklers and Bourbon

Rian sat on his bed, legs outstretched under the covers, back against the headboard. Alex's head leaned on his broad shoulder, eyelids drooping from staying up so late. A particularly unengaging part from a cheap comedy show played on Rian's laptop, the screen bright in an otherwise unlit room. With two stubby fingers, he drummed a lazy rhythm on Alex's thigh. It was commonplace, the lack of personal space, that is.

Rian stretched and yawned, putting an arm around Alex's shoulders in that corny, cliché manner. He had inescapably forgotten why Alex was staying the night. Another adult sleepover, another 'x' on the calendar. However, he was reminded the moment he glanced at the time.

It was two minutes past midnight.

"Look," Rian rasped out, voice tired.

Alex squinted at the monitor, leaning closer.

"Happy New Year, Al." Rian smiled, strong fingers sturdily squeezing Alex's shoulder.

Alex peered up at Rian with a newfound awe. He could recognize the shimmering champagne dancing on his teeth. Rian was smiling at him, that ever-loving smile that was a constant to the both of them. It was golden in the sunless room.

Alex's drowsy eyes curved like the crescent moon, a soft, somber smile tugging at his lips. Rian waited, patiently. For words, for movement, for closure.

Alex's curious face inched closer. The burnt orange blush tinting his cheekbones was the alcohol-induced warmth Rian knew too well. Rian's exterior thawed at the approach, but he could not bite back how nervous he was. There was something about the closeness that bordered surreality. They leaned into each other, breathing in the same air, that warm gust of love, and for a moment, they both forgot to exist for the outside.

And that's when it happened.

It was identical to every other New Year's kiss, with the exception that it wasn't.

The details of who touched who first, and why, were lost in translation; their bodies did all the talking moving forward. Their lips caressed the ones they were pressed up against, and these kisses were never more than what the two men allowed them to be. Rian's lips were firm and pursed, something inherently manly about how he kissed. Alex was hyperaware that he was kissing a man, namely his best friend, and that it was a kiss without restraints. An entire decade of shameless flirting, pining and anticipation came back to them in that moment.

Alex's uncertain hands cradled Rian's bristly jaw, a touch that was eerily familiar.

"Happy New Year, Ri," Alex said softly.

And Rian held Alex impossibly close. In his mind, he was standing on the shoreline, toes dipped in sand dunes. Alex's deft fingers getting tangled in his thick hair was like the breeze passing through his hollow body. An unmistakably masculine love was flooding his heart high in his chest. Rian could not fathom why it was the way it was. But he understood. It was, on all occasions, understanding. The affinity with Alex mashing his mouth against his, the warmth of the upcoming year precipitating on his soft tongue and palate — it was breathtaking.

Alex gently licked over Rian's upper lip. It was awkward and unlike the movies in drive-in theaters. Alex found it indescribable that Rian had kissed him back, and kissed him well, kissed him good and kind and everything in-between. Rian stroked Alex's neck tenderly, the very tips of his fingers resting on his nape.

Alex put separation between their aching lips, no more than the span of a finger. Rian perceived it more as him pushing Alex away. That, he did not understand.

"I love you," Alex said, abruptly and out into the open. "I have, for a while."

Rian stared, the ocean that was lapping at his feet now freezing him in place. No words seemed to suffice, tongue heavy in his mouth. Talking, touching and keeping a steady eye contact were things that could not coexist in that climactic moment. Rian's hooded gaze moved down to Alex's lips, longing for a wordless confirmation.

Would it be so unwelcome to not have the words leave his mouth? Oh, but how he wanted to utter the phrase until it lost meaning. "I love you," Rian admitted, leaning in. "I'm _in love_ with you."


End file.
